Brush-holder.



M. BRODEUR.

BRUSH HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.1e, 1909.

Patented July 5, 1910.

MAGLOIRE BRODEUR, `GF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

BRUSILHOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J uly 5, 1910.

Application led September 16, 1909. Serial No. 518,000.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAGLOIRE BnoDnUR, of Lynn, in the county of Essexand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Brush-Holders, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to means for holding the brushes of electricmachinery, such, for instance, as electric motors, dynamos, or otherapparatus in which the stationary brush or contact piece is held againsta moving conductor.

My object has been to provide a holder which would permit of the readyremoval of a worn-out brush and the substitution of a new one which willhold the brush against the armature commutator or other moving surfacewith a constant, yielding pressure and without causing the brush to bearmore heavily at either end and thereby without wearing` the commutatorunevenly; and finally to eliminate danger of sparking between any partof the brush holder such, for instance, as the spring acting on thebrush, and the commutator or the moving conductor.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a brush holderconstructed in accordance with the principles of my invention andapplied to a direct current motor, itbeing understood, however, that itsuse is not in any wise limited to such use, but may extend to dynamosand all other sorts of apparatus in which it is necessary to maintain astationary conductor in contact with a moving one.

In the drawings,*l*`igure 1 represents an elevation partially in sectionof such a motor. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a brush holder mountedupon a yoke or frame by which it is supported. Fig. 3 is a frontelevation of the holder. Fig. l is a central cross section of theholder. F ig. 5 is a plan view of the holder.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a motor case and 2 representsthe commutator of the motor armature. Cooperating with the armature aretwo o-r more brushes, 3, each mounted in a holder represented at a and 5which holders are adjustably secured to ay yoke G, fastened to the top7, of the motor case. 'Ihe holder 4, has a wing 8, provided with ribs 9and 10, which embrace a guide 11, the latter being arranged on the yoke6, radially of the armature and having wing 8, by which the brush holderis adjustably mounted upon the yoke so that it may be moved toward oraway from the armature. The end of the brush holder nearest to thecommutator is formed with a guide 14, in which the brush is held in sucha way that it may move freely toward and from the armature. Preferably,the walls of the holder entirely surround the sides and edges of thebrush. Also mounted to slide in the guide 14, is a follower or presserwhich is yieldingly actuated by aspring 16, and bears against the brushto hold the latter in contact with the commutator. The follower 15, ispreferably in the form of an inverted U, having legs 15a, which pressupon the brush near opposite ends thereof. A spring' 16 acts upon a bar17, projecting from the connecting web or cross piece of the follower topress the follower against the brush and the latter against thecommutator. The upper end of the follower is guided by pins 18 whichproject into slots 19, in the opposite end portion of the holder. Theseslots are parallel with the part of the holder which guides the brush sothat the follower is enabled to move under the influence of the springas the brush wears away in use.

In order to permit removal and replacement of brushes, the follower ismade so that it can be displaced from the brush guide or chamber of theholder.` For this purpose the upper ends of the slots 19 are offset at19, so that when the follower is moved to its outermost position, it mayslip aside out of alinement with t-he brush. The ends of the legs of thefollower are then wholly removed from the channels in which the edges ofthe brush are contained whereby the follower, as a whole, is permittedto be displaced and the brush can readily be lifted and taken wholly outof the holder. In order to permit grasping of the brush when it is to bethus removed, the walls are recessed as at 20, giving access for thethumb and linger to grasp the brush.

By reason of the fact that, as previously stated, the spring 16, isconnected with the follower by a bar 17, projecting laterally, thetendency of the spring is naturally to throw the pins 18 into the offsetpart 19, of the guide slot when the follower is raised sufficiently far.The follower is then held in the position indicated by dotted lines in`a stud 12, projecting through a slot 18,in the i Fig. Il, theeccentricity of the line of pull of the spring being such as to projectthe lower end of the follower across the brush guiding channel, suchlower end being prevented from being pushed beyond said channel by thelugs 21. When the handle 22, extending from the back of the follower andembracing the spring 16, is grasped, the lower end of the follower maybe shifted clear of the brush and the latter removed. This arrangementof the spring relatively to the follower enables a new brush to beinserted without the necessity of the follower being manually held outof the way because the pins 18, are held in the oset ends 19a, of theguiding slot and are prevented from slipping out of the offsets byshoulders 28. The lower end of the follower then projects yieldinglyacross the brush channel but gives way when a brush is pushed down intosuch channel. Immediately upon the brush being pushed sulficiently farin, the lower end of the follower springs out across the brush andretains it. rlhe follower may then be caused to bear upon the brush bymoving it slightly upward and inward to displace its pins 18, from theoffset ends 19, of the guiding slots. It should be noted that there areflanges 241, on the edges of the side members of the holder which limitthe displacement of the follower to an amount just suflicient to permitremoval of the brush.

rI`he holder being applied to the yoke 6, in the manner previouslydescribed, is held thereon by a nut 25, threaded upon a bolt 12 betweenwhich nut and the wing S of the holder, are washers 26. These washersserve the further purpose of clamping a wire 27 or other conductor bywhich electrical energy is carried to or from the brush holder. Itshould be notedv in passing, that the holder is preferably made as asingle casting out of metal which is a conductor of electricity so thatno special conductor is needed between the lead wire 27, and the brush.

Owing to the shape of the follower and the arrangement of the actuatingspring 16, midway between its edges, the spring pressure is appliedequally to the opposite ends of the brush and there is thus nopossibility of either end of the brush being caused to press more firmlythan the other upon the armature commutator or contact ring, andtherefore unequal wear on the latter or on the brush is whollyeliminated. The movement of the follower also is so slight, beinglimited to a slow, gradual, inward movement, while one brush is beingworn away and an occasional displacement while brushes are beingchanged, that the wear on the holder and its parts is very slight inamount, and the possibility of the holder becoming worn out is veryremote. Furthermore, the form 0f the holder enables changing of brushesto be effected with the greatest ease and without disconnecting theholder or removing any part thereof.

I desire it to be distinctly understood that where I have referred to amotor and to an armature commutator in the foregoing description, suchterms are intended to be terms of description merely and not oflimitation, for I do not intend to limit the scope and extent of myinvention to any particular type of apparatus but include within thescope of my invention all such apparatus and machinery in which astationary conl ductor is held in contact with a moving conductor, myinvention residing in the means for holding suoli stationary conductor.

I claim 1. A brush holder made in one piece hav ing a channel, a brushcontained in said channel, a follower arranged to enter said channel,and means for causing said follower to bear on said brush and feed thelatter as it becomes worn away, said holder having provisions permittingdisplacement of said follower to one side of the channel and at the sametime retaining the follower in position for rentering the channel toenable brushes to be placed in and taken from the channel.

2. A holder for an electrical contact brush having a channel in whichthe brush is contained and through which it may be fed, a followerarranged to bear on said brush, being equal in width thereto and havingan extended Contact with the opposite side walls of said holder wherebyit is caused to press equally on both ends of the brush, and a springfor actuating said follower.

3. A holder for an electrical contact brush having a channel in whichthe brush is contained and through which it may be fed, a followerarranged to bear on said brush and to enter the brush channel, andguiding means for that end of said follower which projects from thechannel, said guiding means being offset to permit displacement of thefollower to one side of the channel.

4. A holder for an electrical contact brush having a channel in whichthe brush is contained and through which it may be fed, a followerarranged to bear in said brush and to project at one end into the brushchannel, a guide for the end of said follower remote from the brush osetto permit displacement of the follower to the side of the brush channel, and yielding means tending to project the end of the followernearest to the brush across the channel.

5. A holder for an electrical contact brush having a channel in whichthe brush is contained and through which it may be fed, a followerarranged to bear on said brush, and projections on opposite edges ofsaid follower contained in guiding grooves in the lOl sides of theholder, said grooves being offset a sufiicient distance from the brushchannel to permit displacement of the follower bodily to one side of thechannel.

6. A holder for an electrical contact brush consisting of side membersconnected together near an end thereof to form a guideway, a brushhaving its opposite edges embraced by said gnideway, said side membershaving also grooves extending in part directly away from said guidewayand in part being offset aside from the line of the guideway, and afollower entering t-he brush guideway and having studs contained in saidgrooves and guided thereby, said follower being of such a length thatwhen said studs are in the offset portion of said grooves, the followeris wholly withdrawn from the guideway and may be displaced to one sidethereof.

7. A holder for an electrical contact brush consisting of side membersconnected together near an end thereof to forni a guideway, a brushhaving its opposite edOes embraced by said guideway, said side membershaving also grooves extending in part directly away from said guidewayand in part being offset aside from the line of the guideway, a followerentering the brush guideway and having studs contained in said groovesand guided thereby, said follower being of such a length that when saidstuds are in the offset portion of said grooves, the follower is wholly.vithdrawn from the guideway and may be displaced to one side thereof,and a spring connected to said follower arranged to press the latteragainst the brush.

8. 'A holder for an electrical contact brush consisting of side membersconnected together near an end thereof to form a guideway, a brushhaving its opposite edges embraced by said guideway, said side membershaving also grooves extending in part directly away from said guidewayand in part. being offset aside from the line of the guideway, afollower entering the brush guideway and having studs contained in saidgrooves and guided thereby, said follower being of such a length thatwhen said studs are in the offset portion of said grooves, the followeris wholly withdrawn from the guideway and may be displaced to one sidethereof, and a spring connected to the follower at one side of the planethereof and arranged to exert its force in such direction as to pressthe follower toward the brush, whereby the end of the follower is causedto project yieldingly across the brush guideway when withdrawntherefrom.

9. A holder for an electrical contact brush consisting of side membersconnected together near an end thereof to forni a guideway, a brushhaving its opposite edges embraced by said guideway, said side membershaving also grooves extending in part directly away from said guidewayand in part being offset aside from the line of the guideway, a followerentering the brush guideway and having studs contained in said groovesand guided thereby, said follower being of such a length that when saidstuds are in the offset portion of said grooves, the follower is whollywithdrawn from the guideway and may be displaced to one side thereof, aspring connected to said follower so as to cause the latter to pressagainst t-he brush, and a handle on the follower by which the latter maybe withdrawn in opposition to the spring.

10. The combination of a support having a guide, a stud projectingtherefrom, a brush holder provided with a wing formed with ribs toembrace said guide and slotted to receive said stud, the slot of saidwing extending in the same direction as the guide to permit adjustmentof said holder with respect to said support, a nut and washers on saidstud to clamp said holder in adjusted position and to secure anelectrical conductor in electrical connection with the holder, saidholder having a brush channel, a brush contained in said channel inelectrical contact with the body of the holder, and resilient meansacting on said brush to press the saine into contact with itscooperating conductor.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

MAGLORE BRODEUR.

Vitnesses F. R. RoULsToN, P. XV. PEZZETTI.

